'He's going to kill us all,' backpackers escape attack on remote Australian beach

Two female backpackers in their 20s - believed to be German - escaped an
attack by a 59-year-old Australian man on a remote beach in a national park
in South Australia

By Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney, video source AuBC / Channel 7

2:20AM GMT 11 Feb 2016

Two female backpackers – believed to be European – escaped a brutal attempted rape and murder on a remote Australian beach after one of the women ran from their captor, yelling “he's going to kill us all.”

The women, both in their 20s, were attacked at Tea Tree Point, an isolated beach in Coorong National Park in South Australia, by a 59-year-old Australian man.

Police arrested the man at a nearby campsite Photo: 7 News

One of the women escaped and ran - naked and scratched - through sand dunes towards some fishermen.

“She didn’t know what was going on. She ran straight to the car yelling. She opened the back door, jumped straight in and like ‘Get me out of here, get me out of here. He’s going to kill us all.’ First of all she had no clothes on so we just straight away gave her our jacket.”

Another fisherman said: “She was just screaming, crying, yelling. Her and her friend split up. They were running different directions ... She got away and she said ‘I want to find my friend’.”

The second woman was found barely conscious and was taken to a hospital, where she remains in a stable condition.

The fishermen called the police, who arrested the man at a nearby campsite.

The camp at Three Point Beach where the two women were staying Photo: 7 News

His blood-spattered four-wheel drive vehicle was seized and he was charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, engaging in sexual intercourse without consent and causing serious harm.

The man, whose name has been suppressed, was known by locals in the area and has numerous online profiles, describing himself on dating sites as an avid camper and fisherman looking for a relationship.

Police said the two women were backpackers who met the man on Tuesday, a day before they were attacked.

“Effectively these two ladies have been driving with a newly acquainted person and effectively found themselves in a situation which has turned out to be rather scary and physically bad for them,” said police superintendent James Blandford.